The Brooklyn Dodger Strikes Back
by Angel Grace
Summary: NOT A TRORY! Deal with it. R/J The consequences of Jess returning to Stars Hollow.
1. Cue the Imperial Death March

Pairing: R/J

Rating: PG (for a couple of swear words)

Spoilers: Up to and including _Teach Me Tonight_.

Summary:  Jess returns to Stars Hollow to make amends with Rory.  What will the consequences be?

Author's note:  I've never posted a chapter this short before, and I do apologize for the brevity.  I promise that subsequent chapters will be more substantial.  This is my first Rory/Jess fic, however, so I'm still trying to get a handle on things.

**The Brooklyn Dodger Strikes Back**

**by Grace**

Part 1: Cue the Imperial Death March

The cars speeding past on the interstate melted into a fluid stream of color.  Jess gazed unseeingly out the bus window, his thoughts still back in Stars Hollow.  He shook his head sharply, desperately trying to clear the haze of confused emotions.

                After all, this was what he had wanted all along—to get the hell out of Perky Smalltown, USA.  To go back to the city.  Back to his friends.  Back to his mother.

                He shut his eyes briefly as her image entered his mind.  Although he hadn't spoken to her himself, he could tell from the expression on Luke's face that mommy dearest wasn't exactly thrilled by his impending return.

                Jess sighed, and leaned back in the uncomfortable bus seat.  He should be used to it by now; used to feeling unwanted.  His father certainly hadn't wanted him, walking out on the family when Jess was six.  His mother had simply been waiting for an opportunity to ship him off somewhere, so that she could sleep her way through Brooklyn in peace.  Luke certainly hadn't asked Jess to become a part of his life, and he hadn't exactly looked heartbroken as he loaded him on the bus.  Taylor most likely started organizing a parade the second he heard the news.  Lorelai and Dean would probably build the biggest float, wittily titled "Jess is out of Rory's life, doo dah, doo dah."

                Rory.  Jess Mariano was not the kind of guy who dwelled on the past or regretted many things, but he wished things could have ended differently with Rory.  He hadn't even bothered to say goodbye, not wanting to see a look of loathing and distrust in her eyes that he had come to expect from everyone else.

                No matter how hard he tried, Jess couldn't block out the memories of the accident.  They kept coming continuously, louder and faster within his head each time, the colors brighter, the pain more acute.  He had finally stopped horsing around; watching the road as he took Rory in slow, square loops.  The dog had darted out of some bushes and into the street, and he found himself slamming on the brakes before he could even register why he was doing it.  He jerked the wheel sharply, realizing too late that he wouldn't be able to avoid impact.

                The sound of twisting, crunching metal was sickening in his ears, but all that mattered to him was that Rory was okay.  He could see the pain on her face even before she admitted that there was something wrong with her wrist, her features pale as she tried to hold back the tears.  The ambulance and the tow truck arrived practically simultaneously, and he watched her speed away, the sirens flashing, as the car was chained to the truck; the echoes of his reassurances that everything would be okay sounding hollow in his ears.

                Nothing would ever be okay again, not with her.  He knew how her mother and Dean would react; knew he had violated the tenuous trust he and Rory shared.  His heart told him to find a way to the hospital, just to be with her, to see with his own eyes that she would heal.  His head knew that his presence there would only make the situation more volatile.  Not wanting to face Lorelai didn't make him a coward—it simply meant he was aware that seeing the two of them in a screaming match would only hurt Rory more.

                At any rate, it wasn't his place to be at her side, comforting her; not when he was the one who had broken her.  It was like he was the anti-Midas—everything he touched turned to shit.  Dean had built her a car; he had wrecked it.  Just another analogy for the path of destruction that was his life.

                He wished he could have seen Rory one last time before he left—seen her smile, made her laugh, argued literature with her.  She made him care about things that he wasn't supposed to care about; made him do things that he wasn't supposed to want to do.  He wasn't supposed to care about an innocent small town girl with an innocent small town boyfriend.  He wasn't supposed to want to go running back to Stars Hollow, with their kooky residents, never-ending festivals, and severe lack of things to do.

                But he did.  Which was why, when the bus finally arrived in New York, he didn't hop the subway that would take him home.  Instead, he used the "emergency money" Luke had pressed into his palm at the Stars Hollow bus stop, and bought a return ticket.


	2. Interrupted by C-3PO Again

Pairing: R/J

Rating: PG

Spoilers: Season 2, up to and including _Teach Me Tonight._

Summary: Jess returns to Stars Hollow to make amends with Rory.  What will the consequences be?

**The ****Brooklyn**** Dodger Strikes Back**

**By Grace**

**Part 2: Interrupted by C-3PO Again**

            Rory Gilmore flung her book across the room in frustration.  It simply wasn't possible to eat potato chips and read when she only had one good hand.  Adding to her grumpy mood was the fact that Lorelai was forcing her to boycott Luke's for some unfathomable reason.  Even Rory didn't share her mother's penchant for quadruple-strength coffee.

            Sighing loudly, Rory flopped back against her pillow.  She had come home alone after the annual screening of _The Yearling.  She simply wasn't in the mood to hear everyone gossip about Jess._

            Jess.  She couldn't believe that he had left, and even worse was that he didn't even say goodbye.  Her mother had been obnoxiously giddy after the news sunk in, and she dragged Christopher off to do whatever it is that two people, who live in different states, share a child, and occasionally have sex, do.  Ugh.  Not an image she wanted to contemplate.

            Glancing over at the clock, she saw that it had gotten late.  Her futile attempt to read _The Portrait of Dorian Gray had apparently eaten up a lot of time, and it was now past midnight.  With a groan, Rory dragged herself over to the closet and pondered just how she was going to get changed into her pajamas without her mother there to help her.  Grabbing an oversized nightshirt that she figured would be easiest to slip over her cast, she returned to her perch on the edge of the bed.  As she began toeing off her socks, she heard a light tapping at the window.  Glancing up, Rory was stunned to see Jess standing outside.  Her eyes widened in shock, and she moved towards the window as if in a daze._

*          *          *

            The moment Rory glanced up, his eyes locked with hers.  As she began to walk in his direction, Jess had to force down the panic that was rising in his throat.  This was a mistake.  He shouldn't be here.  If Lorelai caught him with her daughter, he wouldn't survive long enough to try and explain.  What if Rory felt the same way her mother did?  He couldn't stand it if she hated him, if she couldn't forgive him…

            He ran out of time to turn tail and run when she opened the window.  She was backlit by the lamp in her room, throwing her face into shadow, so he couldn't read the expression in her eyes.

            "What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice tinged with exhaustion.  "I thought you left."  That's when he heard it—the note of accusation in her tone.

            His heart sank, but he pressed onward.  "Can I come in?  Or maybe you can come out here?"

            She gave no verbal response, simply pushed the window open wider, and watched in silence as he climbed inside.

            Once he was firmly settled on both feet, Rory let loose. "How could you do that to me?"

            Jess was taken aback by her vehemence.  "I swear it was an accident!  I didn't mean to wreck the car…"

            She reached out with her good arm and shoved him, sending him toppling backwards onto her bed.  "I'm not talking about the car, Jess!"

            His brow furrowed.  "Then what _are you talking about?  Your wrist?  Rory, you have to know I never wanted to hurt you…"_

            "But you _did hurt me!  How could you just leave like that, without even saying goodbye?  Do you have any idea how worried I was about you?  Do you know how guilty I felt?"_

            He couldn't stop the relived laughter from bubbling up and out of him.

            "This isn't funny!" she cried indignantly.

            "Actually, it kind of is—at least to me," he replied with a tiny smirk.

            Tentatively, Rory sat down on the bed beside him.  "How do you figure that?"

            He shrugged.  "I guess it's just unexpected.  I thought maybe you'd be glad to have me out of your life.  I'm sure your mother was," he added bitterly.

            "I'm not my mother," she said softly.

            "I know, but I figured you'd at least be mad about the car, or your arm, or something."

            "Jess, you didn't do any of that on purpose."

            "I know, but…if I hadn't been acting like the screw-up that everyone thinks I am, you wouldn't have been tutoring me and none of this would have happened."

            She was quiet for a moment.  "Just because most of the town believes you're a delinquent doesn't mean that you have to prove them right."

            He met her eyes, his gaze intense.  "Do _you think I'm a delinquent?"_

            She shook her head.

            "Then what _do you think I am?"_

            "I think you're someone that I don't know very much about, but I believe there are reasons you act the way you do."

            He shook his head, his expression a mixture of admiration and frustration.  "You always want to see the good in people, don't you?"

            She was slightly taken aback.  "I guess so.  I mean…I never really thought about it much."

            "It's because you're a good person, Rory."

            "Thanks.  Jess?"

            "Hmm?"

            "Why are you nice to me?"

            He looked at her askance.  "What do you mean?"

            "From the moment you got here, you treated everyone like an enemy.  Everyone except me.  Why not me?"

            "I don't know.  Because you like to read?"

            She crossed her arms and looked skeptical.  "Lots of people read."

            "Because you're pretty?"

            She colored slightly.  "Nice try, but I don't quite buy it."

            "Because it drives your mother insane?"

            "You're getting closer."

            He sighed in exasperation.  "I don't know why, Rory!  I guess it's just because you're you."

            She smiled softly.  "Now that I'll believe."

            "I've never met anyone like you."

            "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Rory inquired.

            "Do you think I would have come back to this hell-hole if it was a bad thing?"

            "Why _did you come back?" she asked, her voice dropping to just above a whisper._

            Blue eyes locked with brown, and an inextricable force seemed to draw their heads closer and closer together.  Rory's cheeks flushed as she felt his warm breath caress them, and a tiny voice inside her head began to scream for her to pull away.  For once in her life, she decided to ignore it.

            That choice was taken away from her when the front door abruptly slammed.  With a start, Rory jerked away from Jess, her cheeks darkening to crimson with guilt.

            He saw the uncertainty that leapt into her eyes, and resolutely stood up.  "I should go."

            Shaking her head, Rory whispered, "Don't."

            "Rory, your mom…"

            "I can handle her.  She can't stop me from being friends with you."

            His eyes were dark with something she couldn't quite identify as he gazed steadily at her.  "Is that what we are?  Friends?"

            "Of course."  She caught the flicker of disappointment in his countenance, and added softly, "But that's not all."

            "Okay."

            Rory turned and took a step towards her bedroom door, then paused and looked back.  "Promise me you won't run away again."

            Jess nodded.  "I promise."

_To be continued…_


End file.
